Iraqi Prime Minister Agrees With Obama’s Withdrawal Timeline?
That’s what Reuters is reporting:
BERLIN (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a German magazine he supported prospective U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months.
In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible.
“U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes.”
This will no doubt have Obama and his disciples crowing given how much flak the messiah has been taking (from the left and the right) over his Iraq policy, but it’s worth noting that the only thing Maliki is agreeing with here is the 16 month time frame. He thinks his government and its security forces could take over in that amount of time, which frankly is something that makes Obama and the rest of the liberals who were declaring the war lost a year ago look like short-sighted idiots.
That Iraq will be capable of taking over in 16 months, at least in the opinion of the country’s elected (thanks to President Bush) leader, flies directly in the face of everything Obama and the Democrats have been telling us about Iraq since day one.
As for the time line itself, it’s worth noting that McCain would hand over Iraq to the Iraqis in 16 months and withdraw our troops if it turned out that the Iraqis were ready in that time line. The difference between McCain and Obama is that McCain is willing to stay beyond that 16 months to finish the mission.
Obama would abandon the Iraqis even if they needed us longer.
